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Best Video Card

The EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW GAMING is our best video card which uses GDDR5 for its connection interface graphics coprocessor. It has a memory detail of 8,192 MB or 8 GB and it also has a base clock speed of 1,607 MHz. moreover, it has a boost clock speed of 1,797 MHz which makes it super ideal for any gamer. To cool down the PC, it uses the EVGA ACX cooling technology to lighten up your load. It also makes the use of the Pascal graphics processor by NVIDIA for the best GPU for gaming and is greatly ideal for those who are into VR.

Our step-up pick is the ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Graphics Card and it is very ideal for any 4K video game or streaming and is super ideal for any VR gear such as Oculus Rift. It is highly ready for any VR and 4K experience for any user and it connects with two HDMI 2.0 ports for superior gaming experience and home theater system. The boost clock memory speed of this video card is 1,835 MHz and it connects with a single 8-pin connector. You can easily match the case lights of your CPU using the custom lighting software of the GeFORCE GTX of your video card. It only consumes 180 watts of power so it does not load up your PC and make it suffer too much. You can display about 4 monitors at the same time with this awesome graphics card.

The budget pick is the EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti SC 2GB and it is super ideal for overclocking purposes and for expanding your gaming rig using the Precision X software that is included with the package. It has a memory clock that is effective up to 5,400 MHz and it uses the GeForce GTX 750Ti for its graphics coprocessor. It connects using the interface of PCI express 3.0 or PCI-E and its 2 GB (2,048 MB) of memory detail can already help you edit videos on big CPU and GPU eaters such as Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere. It uses NVIDIA Maxwell for its architectural structure and power efficiency to provide you with the best performance of a GPU and graphics card without the additional cost and it supports GameStream, GeForce Experience and G-SYNC for its gaming technologies that are supported by the GTX by GeForce to enhance your game play, visuals and other details.

A Little Background

Video cards are very useful in any computer, but if you need to upgrade your computer or have rigorous needs when it comes to gaming and video editing, you should definitely get yourself a new video card that has better capabilities. To lessen the load on your internal memory and system, having a standalone video card can also help to improve your system efficiency, reduce gaming lag and keep your Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas Pro from crashing further.

How We Picked

In choosing the best video card, we only chose from a few pointers:
Memory detail – this can come in mostly 2 GB, 4 GB, 6 GB or 8 GB, with 2 GB being the most common for casual gamers and 8 GB for serious gamers.
Type of video card – do know that most video cards are a GDDR5 type but there are also other types as well.
Clock speed – take note of the clock speed of the video card first before buying so that you do not run into any problems.
Overclocking ability – you would want a video card that is easy to set up on overclocking mode so you can easily go to your game or video editing software without the threat of lag or the blue screen of death.
Supported technologies – video cards that have a high quality should be able to support most mainstream graphic technologies such as DirectX, OpenGL and many others.
Cooling ability – graphics processing is quite a hassle for your unit and this is why the video card should have an effective way of cooling down. A big plus point would be the video card having its own fan or cooling system to cool down.

Our Pick

EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW GAMING
Our best video card is the EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW GAMING and this one has a memory detail of 8,192 MB or 8 GB. It uses GDDR5 for its connection interface graphics coprocessor. As a unique feature, it its RGB LED is highly adjustable with the help of the EVGA Precision XOC. As for the clock speed, the video card has a base clock speed of 1,607 MHz and it has a boost clock speed of 1,797 MHz and it also uses double BIOS for superior graphics quality and processing power.
This powerful video card by EVGA has a total of 10 power phases and it also greatly supports the DX12 OSD on the precision XOC by EVGA. It is super ideal for any gamer and it conveniently comes with a fan which measures 10 cm. This video card also comes with a power adapter cable with 6 to 8 pins.
As for the cooling technology of the EVGA GeForce FTW GAMING, to cool down the PC, it uses the EVGA ACX cooling technology to lighten up your load. It effectively cools down the copper contact area and increases the heat pipes using its SHP 2.0 technology feature. This video card also makes the use of the Pascal graphics processor by NVIDIA for the best GPU for gaming. All in all, the EVGA 1070 FTW GAMING is greatly ideal for those who are into VR.

Flaws but Not Dealbrakers

Sometimes, even the best top picks for the best computer peripherals such as our best video card, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW GAMING, can have its own set of flaws. However, take note that these flaws are not deal breakers. For example, there could be a few shortcomings on the blower fan of the video card which is not really a good thing but it depends on how meticulous you are with cooling your video card and your system.

Step-up Pick

ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Graphics Card
For our step-up pick, we chose carefully and ended up with the ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Graphics Card in which the boost clock memory speed of this video card is 1,835 MHz and the back plate and shroud both have the technology of Aura RGB lighting for superior performance. This video card is outstanding and it has a total memory detail of 8 GB. Moreover, it is also highly ready for any VR and 4K experience for any user as it connects with two HDMI 2.0 ports for superior gaming experience and home theater system. As a matter of fact, you can easily connect both your VR headset as well as a monitor to this awesome video card.
When it comes to the cooling technology of this video card, the PWM fan headers are controlled by the GPU and are dual 4-pin in their designs due to the ASUS Fan Connect feature. It also delivers supreme power and durability due to its Super Alloy Power II technology. What’s more, the fan runs at 0 dB for superb and uninterrupted gaming experience with a super quiet fan. And in addition to that, the fans have a wing blade design to keep them as silent as possible.
Moreover, the direct CU III technology also adds to the quietness of the video card’s fans. This awesome video card also connects with a single 8-pin connector and it effectively and greatly cools your CPU and your graphics card so you can overclock and extend your gaming experience without the worry of lag and overheating.
The ASUS GeForce Graphics Card significantly runs cooler than most video cards at a difference of 10 to 15 degrees C and you can easily match the case lights of your CPU using the custom lighting software of the GeFORCE GTX of your video card. It is backed up by the power of the NVIDIA Pascal and it only consumes 180 watts of power so it does not load up your PC and make it suffer too much. Moreover, you can display about 4 monitors at the same time with this awesome graphics card. Likewise, it is ideal for any 4K video game or streaming and it is also super ideal for any VR gear such as Oculus Rift.

Budget Pick

EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti SC 2GB
We chose the EVGA GeForce GTX 750Ti SC 2GB for our budget pick and cost-effective option for the best video card as it connects using the interface of PCI express 3.0 or PCI-E. it also highly supports any gaming experience and gives you 1080p HD video quality with this video card and its 2 GB (2,048 MB) of memory detail can already help you edit videos on big CPU and GPU eaters such as Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere.
This video card has a memory clock that is effective up to 5,400 MHz and it has a boost clock of 1,255 MHz and a base clock of 1,176 MHz. You are guaranteed of a 24/7 technical support from EVGA when you purchase this budget video card for your computer. It uses the GeForce GTX 750Ti for its graphics coprocessor and it has a max screen resolution of 2560 x 1600. In fact, its graphics interface is the GDDR5 type and it also has a memory bit width of 128-bit.
The EVGA SC 2GB uses NVIDIA Maxwell for its architectural structure and power efficiency to provide you with the best performance of a GPU and graphics card without the additional cost. It also supports any DDR3 SDRAM connection interface and it also does not require any external power source, which makes it a convenient video card to have. It can power up to 3 monitors at the same time.
A unique thing about this video card is the fact that it also supports NVIDIA ShadowPlay, video recording software that records directly from the GPU at 1080p resolution maximum. It also has a VGA / DVI adapter included and it has decent graphics capability for its price. What’s more, the Maxwell architecture by NVIDIA sets it apart from most video cards in the market.
On power efficiency, the video card is also relatively easy to install due to not requiring an external power source. It also supports GameStream, GeForce Experience and G-SYNC for its gaming technologies that are supported by the GTX by GeForce to enhance your game play, visuals and other details. In fact, the low power consumption is awesome with this video card. Adding to that, the fan runs quietly unlike most video cards.
All in all, the EVGA 750Ti SC 2GB is super ideal for overclocking purposes and for expanding your gaming rig using the Precision X software that is included with the package.

Best GDDR5 Video Card

Gigabyte GeForce GTX GV-N1080G1 Graphics Card
The Gigabyte GeForce GTX GV-N1080G1 Graphics Card has a total of 8 GB of memory detail and is our best GDDR5 video card. It is an ideal graphics card for maximum gaming experience and is a GDDR5 type of graphics card. It has two modes: OC mode and gaming mode in which the OC mode has a base clock speed of 1,721 MHz and 1,860 MHz for the boost speed and the gaming mode has a base clock speed of 1,695 MHz and 1,835 MHz for the boost speed.
As for the features, with DP 1.3 connectors x 2, you can connect any 8K display at 60 Hz. Moreover, the video card has a 256-bit memory as a GDDR5 video card. The LED indicators are equipped with the 3D active fan and the blade design of the fan produces a unique wind force that runs quietly at any operation. It also makes the use of the NVIDIA Pascal architecture for the most superb gaming experience possible.
This is also a VR-ready or 3D vision ready video card that is very easy to overclock compared to most video cards because it does not require any additional overclocking tools. In fact, due to its design, it stays cool at only around 60 to 70 degrees C even through a few hours of any rigorous 3D games on your computer.

Ideal Video Card with AMD Radeon Graphics Processor

Sapphire Radeon NITRO 4GB Graphics Card
For our best AMD Radeon video card, we chose the Sapphire Radeon NITRO 4GB Graphics Card which comes with three display ports. It has one HDMI port for high definition displays and it also has a port DVI-D connections. It also has a total memory detail of 4 GB and greatly supports any PCI express slot on your motherboard.
Efficiently powered by AMD Radeon on its graphics processor, the Sapphire Radeon Card has a dual BIOS feature and it has a memory clock speed of 1,050 MHz. What’s more, the video card has a maximum display resolution of 2560 x 1600. Gamers will rejoice with this video card as it also uses Tri-X OC+ for its overclocking features. This particular video card has a max power consumption of 275 watts when not overclocked and around 620 watts when overclocked, which can be useful for 4k, VR and 1080p resolution gaming.
In addition to that, the video card also has two settings for power draw: 260 watts and 300 watts, which have temperature targets of 75 degrees C and 80 degrees C respectively. Likewise, the 260-watt setting also turns the LED off to save up on power consumption.

Ideal Video Card for VR (Virtual Reality)

MSI GAMING GeForce GTX 8GB VR-Ready
The MSI GAMING GeForce GTX 8GB VR-Ready is something you should look for if you are into VR or Virtual Reality gaming. It uses GDDR5 for its memory type and it has a total of 8 gigabytes (8,192 MB) of memory detail. It is strongly ideal for gaming and most especially VR or virtual reality headsets and it greatly supports DirectX 12.
As for the specs, the MSI GAMING VR-Ready has a memory clock of 8,108 MHz on its OC mode and it can display up to 4 monitors all at once. As for the screen, it has a maximum resolution of 7680 x 4320. Completely powerful, it uses the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 for its chipset and it also has a 256-bit memory interface. Moreover, it also supports DDR5 SDRAM. This video card has a very reliable air cooling system and technology so that your graphics and gaming experience becomes more lag-free.
When it comes to cooling the system, the MSI GAMING 8GB VR-Ready uses the Torx Fan 2.0 technology to give you 22 percent more air pressure so you can effectively cool down your system without the need to sacrifice noise levels. In addition to that, the heat sink is connected with heat pipes that measure 8 mm and are made from sturdy copper material. Moreover, a nickel plated copper acts as a base plate for the best heat transfer mechanism on a video card.
Adding to that, the Thermal Compound X technology keeps your NVIDIA Pascal architecture video card as cool as possible. The video card also has double ball bearings which help to keep up the pace without a lot of noise in any gaming situation. In fact, you can effectively customize the LED controls so your video card’s lighting effects matches your CPU case’s lighting effects.
This video card has a 2-way design for its SLI feature and is capable of displaying HDMI 2.0 and DL DVI-D. In fact, the fans are very smart at determining when to start spinning – when you absolutely need to cool down your PC as it reaches above 60 degrees C. It is also capable of supporting up to 3 DisplayPort 1.4 instances and it easily connects via any PCI Express 3.0 slot on your motherboard.
As for the other features, the MSI GAMING GeForce has a total of 1,920 units for its CUDA cores. What’s more, the LED lights also respond to your game sounds depending on your settings and the LED lights can also be turned off conveniently to save energy.

Video Card with Low Profile Design

XFX AMD Radeon Low-Profile Video Card
If you are looking for a low profile video card for your old or specifically designed PC then you can go for the XFX AMD Radeon Low-Profile Video Card which has a memory clock speed of 1,066 MHz. Its memory interface is 64-bit and it consumes 450 watts of power and is required as an external power supply. For the technology, it uses the AMD Radeon HD 5450 for its chipset.
This is a GDDR3 video card type which has a memory detail of 1 GB. It has an engine clock speed of 640 MHz and it supports various connections such as HDMI, DVI, VGA and many others. It conveniently connects to any PCI Express slot and it has a very cool and low profile design that fits perfectly on most motherboards. It has a max display resolution of up to 2560 by 1600. Moreover, the brackets of this video card have a slim design.
The dual display technology by XFX makes this video card really awesome. It effectively works with a power supply of 260 watts and is also backwards compatible with lower versions of the PCI express such as the 1.1 version. If you will install this on any Windows XP or higher machine, it will automatically install its drivers. It has a compact and convenient fan-less design so you get a noise-free experience with this video card and is backed by a limited warranty of 2 years.

Video Card that uses NVIDIA Pascal Architecture

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 6GB Graphics Card
The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 6GB Graphics Card has a boost clock speed of 1,708 MHz and has one HDMI 2.0 connector. It has one DVI-I dual link connector and it also comes with 3 DisplayPort 1.4 connectors. It makes the use of NVIDIA’s Pascal Architecture and it has a memory detail of 6 gigabytes.
Highly ready and compatible with any VR (Virtual Reality) system, it is a GDDR5 type of video card which has a very compact design at only 6 inches in its length. It is able to handle DirectX 12 due to its features and can guarantee you up to 3 times faster and more reliable efficiency than older GPUs. Moreover, the plug and play feature of this video card makes it highly convenient.
The low latency VRWorks technology by NVIDIA improves the compatibility of this amazing video card with any VR system and game play. It is highly applicable with VR gaming applications and programs and gives you an ultra-fast and smooth gaming experience.
Created and developed using the FinFET manufacturing process, it makes the use of a new image capture technology as physics, audio and haptics are greatly increased in your VR environment. It has a total of 1,280 CUDA cores and has a maximum power consumption of 120 watts. It has base engine clock speed of 1,506 MHz and a boost speed of 1,708 MHz and it fits any PCI Express 3.0 slot on your motherboard. It has a memory clock of 8,000 MHz and it uses Silent Innovation technology so fans stop when the system is at a certain temperature to save energy consumption.
Furthermore, the ZOTAC Graphics Card has a memory bus of 192-bit and it also supports IceStorm technology which gives it a copper cold black contact as well as wide blade fans and a wide array of aluminum fin stack. It is capable of displaying up to 4 outputs at the same time. The recommended with a power supply at 400 watts. It supports OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL, and DirectX 12 by Microsoft and is powered by the ever-loving NVIDIA GeForce driver. It is a dual slot video card which is ideal for Windows 7, 8 and 10 and can be used both in x86 and x64 environments. It comes with a user’s manual and the warranty can be extended by registering the product online.

Best SLI Ready Video Card

Nvidia GeForce GTX SLI Graphics Card
The Nvidia GeForce GTX SLI Graphics Card has a total of 3 DisplayPort 1.2 connectors as well as an HDMI connector and a DVI dual link connector and has a dual slot form factor so it is very slim and compact. It has a memory size of 4 GB and a memory type of GDDR5 and conforms to and connects to any PCIe (PCI Express) 3.0 slot.
Capable of SLI, HDMI, DVI and DP gaming, it runs on 12 volts of power and is an ideal video card for desktops. It consumes 180 watts of power and 500 watts PSU and provides support for technologies like OpenGL 4.5 and DirectX 12. A highly advanced GPU to consider and is the mother of most video cards out there, it uses VGXI technology so it can dynamically render indirect light and uses the NVIDIA Maxwell architecture for the best graphics and gaming performance without sacrificing power consumption.

Best AGP Video Card

VisionTek Radeon 3450 512MB Graphics Card
The VisionTek Radeon 3450 512MB Graphics Card supports the shadier model 4.1 technology and connects via AGP 8x bus. It has a total of 40 stream processing units and has a process technology of 55 nm. Highly conservative with energy using its ATI Power Play feature, it is capable of supporting DirectX 10.1 and it supports any DDR2 slot as well.
Capable of supporting VGA and DVI-I, it makes the use of the AMD Radeon 3450 for its graphics processor. It has a total memory detail of 512 MB and it has a minimum RAM requirement of 256 MB. It gives you a cool and energy-efficient system performance and supports any 2D or 3D gaming. It also supports any dual monitor process and also supports HD videos and HDCP for the dual link DVI. It is highly applicable for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

The Competition

Other video cards did not have a lot to boast about their supported graphics technologies and this is why we left them out. It is important for a video card to have a great amount of memory detail as well as support for a variety of mainstream graphics technologies such as OpenGL, DirectX and the like.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to know more about video cards then check out this Q & A section we prepared just for you.
Q: What is a video card and what does it do?
A: According to Study.com , video cards, or sometimes called graphics cards, help in enhancing the video and photo quality of your computer. It also speeds up the rendering of 2D and 3D games, models, software elements and the like.
Having a good graphics card or video card is important for any gamer, video editor or movie enthusiast. Video cards can be attached to your motherboard and have the ability to lessen the load of your motherboard and its in-house graphic processors so you can enjoy limitless beautiful game graphics and the like. Most video cards may also include a cooling fan or cooling system.

Q: What are the things to consider when buying a video card?
A: According to PC Gamer , consider the bandwidth and the size of the graphics card and consider the graphics processor of the graphics card. The two major graphics processors are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX and the Radeon R9. Know the type of memory, as most graphics cards are a GDDR5 type of video card and make sure it is highly compatible with your motherboard and make sure the specs are just right for its intended use.

Q: What is the importance of having a standalone graphics card or video card on your computer?
A: According to Quora , having a dedicated graphics card helps gamers and video editors achieve their goals without much fail and system lag. Dedicated graphics using a standalone video card also helps you lessen the load on your computer’s processing unit. Dedicated graphic video cards also help in upgrading old computers that cannot adhere to the changing standards and demands of the World Wide Web and video games of today.